Integrated OLAP Cubes Database driven Aerothermodynamic Trajectory Analysis for Planetary Probes

A novel approach to perform trajectory and aerothermodynamic analysis using the state-of-theart OLAP multi-dimensional database technology will be presented in this publication. An Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) Database Management System integrated to a trajectory code has been developed. The database contains a list of planetary probe architectures and includes vehicle dimensions, trajectory and aero-thermal data. Material properties for several thermal protection systems are also populated into the OLAP database. The user interface allows for a selection from a list of existing planetary probe configurations. In addition, probe design specifications can be changed, including, trajectory, and entry conditions. Vehicle design parameters such as the geometric configuration, flight path angle, entry velocity, entry mass and ballistic coefficient can be varied through the interface. The specified design is dynamically linked to the trajectory code. The trajectory is computed and the database is populated back for the selected specifications of the chosen vehicle architecture. Once a trajectory is run, the data is analyzed from within the OLAP DB using a drill-down approach and can be plotted for comparative data analysis. The framework employs the fourth order RungeKutta integration for trajectory calculations. To study the aerodynamic heating, Fay-Riddell and Tauber-Sutton empirical correlations have been modeled for the stagnation point heat transfer computations. In addition, the OLAP database (DB) provides dynamic links to compressible flow solvers (CFD++, GASP, CFD-RC, LAURA, SPARTA) and allows for aerothermodynamic CFD modeling.